Horace Silver : Best Of Horace Silver

Length: 62:10

  Art Blakey - Drums
  Art Farmer - Trumpet
  Blue Mitchell - Trumpet
  Doug Watkins - Bass
  Gene Taylor - Bass
  Hank Mobley - Sax (Tenor)
  Horace Silver - Piano
  Junior Cook - Sax (Tenor)
  Kenny Dorham - Trumpet
  Louis Hayes - Drums
  Percy Heath - Bass
  Teddy Kotick - Bass

Taking in Horace Silver's fertile '50s stretch (volume two covers the '60s), this Blue Note best-of disc is the perfect introductory set for listeners new to the hard bop giant. One of the first of the soul-jazz innovators (listen to that gospel -fired left hand and all that dancefloor-friendly material), Silver also wrote some of the most original cuts of the period and -- like Art Blakey -- provided a home for many of the best young players of the era. In fact, Silver headed up the first incarnation of the Jazz Messengers with Blakey, some of the fruits of which are heard here ( 'Preachin',' 'Doodlin',' 'Room 608' ). Moving on to such classic LPs as Six Pieces of Silver ( 'Cool Eyes,' 'Senor Blues' ) and Blowin' the Blues Away ( 'Peace,' 'Sister Sadie' ), Silver delivers some of the most sophisticated modern swing around with help from the likes of Hank Mobley, Junior Cook, Donald Byrd, Blue Mitchell, Doug Watkins, and Louis Hayes. A jazz primer with plenty of memorable tunes to boot. ~ Stephen Cook, All Music Guide